I came across a notice of lost or stolen property in a 1820 newspaper. Samuel Polk was on his way between Columbia and Franklin, TN when his saddle bags went missing along with numerous documents. He recreated a list of the documents.
Good lordy, did the Pryor deeds I’ve been looking for meet a similar fate? This notice opens up new possibilities of what happened to documents in the past.
The names John Pryor and Green Pryor appear on the list. Green Pryor b. 1796, husband of Olivia M. Polk is the likely candidate to be the same man noted in these missing papers. Green had a son named John who was born in the 1820’s so it is highly unlikely to be the same man in the 1808 document.
It is more likely that the John Pryor named in the lost document was the father of Green Pryor. The missing document was cited as No. 121 which is odd because John Pryor had a land warrant of the name number in 1809 which names Robert Hay’s and Alexander Campbell’s boundaries and that warrant was withdrawn or removed.
The Notice Transcription
The original notice used dittos to fill in names and amounts through out the list of documents. I have used the name above the ditto in order to make the list more readable online.
ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD.
ON the night of the 17th June last, was stolen from the subscriber between Columbia and Franklin, Tennessee, a pair of SADDLE BAGS containing the following articles, to wit; a CHANGE of CLOTHING which it is not necessary to describe and sundry NOTES of HAND on persons in Lincoln county, the amounts and description not now recollected, drawn payable, however, to William Polk; together with several GRANTS principally issued from the State of Tennessee, and various other papers that cannot be particularized, and a number of LAND WARRANTS of the following description, to wit:
No. | No. of Acres | Kind of warrant | When issued | To whom issued | To whom Transferrred
1952 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Thomas Polk | “
1953 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Samuel Polk | “
1954 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Wm Polk Jr. | “
1955 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | John Polk Jr. | “
1960 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Ezekiel Polk | “
1961 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Abner Alexander | Ezekiel Polk
1994 | 640 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | John Tate | Ezekiel Polk
1967 | 640 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Ezekiel Polk | Ezekiel Polk
1969 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Adlai Osburne | John Tate
1971 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Adlai Osburne | Ezek & Sam. Polk
1972 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Adlai Osburne | Ezek & Sam. Polk
1973 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Adlai Osburne | John Tate
1975 | 640 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | D’d Mc’Ree | J, Walker & S. Polk
1976 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | D’d Mc’Ree | Samuel Polk
1979 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | W. Barnett jr. | W. Weech & S Polk
1983 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Ezekiel Polk | Samuel Polk
1985 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Wm Polk | Samuel Polk
1990 | 640 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Ezek’l Polk | Samuel Polk
2003 | 2500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Adlai Osburne | Ezk’l & Sl Polk
2236 | 640 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Lambert Clayton | John Tate
1974 | 500 | J. A. | Nov. 30, 1784 | Adlai Osburne | Thomas Mc’Neal
121 | 249 | 1-2 CWT | Nov. 8, 1808 | John Pryor | James Walker
502 | 300 | RWT | May 1, 1813 | J Childress | S Polk M.A. Lock 73a
1937 | 823 | CWT | Sept. 4, 1816 | Rob’t W. Smith | Wm. Leetch 175
2558 | 150 | RWT | Dec. 21, 1816 | Samuel Polk | Wm. Leetch 175
2925 | 150 | RWT | May 7, 1818 | George Mitchell | Saml. Polk
2480 | 400 | RWT | Sept 4, 1816 | Thomas & Ez. Polk | Saml. Polk
2481 | 327 | RWT | Sept. 4, 1816 | Thomas & Ez. Polk | Saml. Polk
1516 | 200 | RET | Sept. 2, 1819 | John Cowan | James K Polk Jr
2458 | 650 | RWT | Aug. 28, 1816 | Robert Love | Samuel Polk
1280 | 971 | RWT | Oct. 8, 1812 | Andrew Cathy | S. Polk & J. Leetch
236 | 640| dup. m’lty | May 30 1817 | John Carter Jr. | Green Pryor
2478 | 200 | RWT | Sept. 4, 1816 | Tho. & Ezkl. Polk | Green Pryor
2482 | 140 | RWT | Sept. 4, 1816 | Tho. & Ezkl. Polk | Green Pryor
2479 | 400 | RWT | Sept. 4, 1816 | Tho. & Ezkl. Polk | Tho’s. Mc’Neal
The public are cautioned against trading for any of the above papers, particularly the notes of hand and warrants, which will be probably offered for sale by the person who has taken them. Any person recovering the above mentioned articles or the warrants alone and delivering them to the subscriber or depositing them where he can get them, shall be entitled to the above reward and questions will be asked.
SAMUEL POLK
Columbia, Tenn. July 18, 1820
(published in the Knoxville Register, July 25, 1820)
The Notice
